The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1887-01-06
AN IMPORTED BUTLER.


he would have been happy one. But,
unfortunately. he was rich, and he had
gone to Europc-as the amiable Sir
Lepel Griffin once sa,l-to finish an ed
"c1tIon that never had been begun ut
home.
Peleg V. Atkinson. without the
"Nlr.,' which, in obedience to what he
was assured was a New York custom.
he always had engraved on his cards.
was worth much at the foot of check.
1t was great name in the Philadel-
phia marts of trade. Third street knew
and honored it. and it was not un-
known in Wall street. As 1 said, he
was rich; he had "skimmed the cream
OIL Europe as he phrased it, and he
exhausted all the pleasure that could
be had from drinking Sauternc at
luncheon. when he preferred beer or
ice water. and of making 4 collection
OF modern French pictures. He had a
Corot and a Mcissonnier, Vlbert and
a Dctaille. lie never bought two spec
linens of the same artists work. He
talked of his pictures rs examples"
Tie had orchids. cellar of good wine
and two pretty daughters. and yet he
was not happy. because Mrs. Peleg V.
Atkinson was not happy.
1t is not easy for people accustomed
to the pleasures OF being well to do to
bear the weight of riches. When first
knew the Atkinsons they were thor
oughly contcnted. They drank ice
water when they chose; dined ut noon,
and corncd beef and cabbage was q de-
light to them. On hot days Mr. Atkin-
son threw off his coat after dinner,
stuck pipe in his mouth and sat in the
back door in his shirt sleeves, while
Clarissa orJcnnie played "Listen to the
Mocking Bird or "Silvery Waves by
way of refreshing him before he went
down to the Office at the factory. "Ou
sont les nei &c dantan?' asks Villon.
And Mr.. Atkinson, in after wears Of
splendor, often asked the same oues-
ton; in less poctical language, as he
thought of those happy days. Alas!
there could be no more sitting under
the grapevine arbor and smoking the
pipe of peace! Mrs. Pelcg V. Atkinson
would no more make the mint julep
with her own fair hands and como out
to waken him from blssful sleep as he
sat j" the yard with newspaper over
bis head to keep off the flies on blissful
AMI t'rowsy afternoons. Then Mrs.
Atkinson was satisfied that her four
white stone steps were equal in size
anu pallor to her neighbors'. and that
there was no window glass in the whole
town of Philadelphia more dazzlin O
than hers; but now -!
ClaIip and Jennie played only
Chop% they could not possibly condo.
scend even to opera music, although
not aversc to a dash into Wagner
occasionally. He dined by candle light,
in dress suit and a stiff white SHIRT
bosom, which he was always tempted
to cover up with his napkin. He had
taken house just outside of Washing
ton for the winter, for Mrs. Atkinson
saw no chance of making suitable
matches for her daughters in her
native city. The ''bcst' society wa,
closed to her; she lived on North
Broad street, and therefore Clarissa
and Jennie could not possibly 90 to the
Assembly ball; and above all things
outside of heaven, of course-Mrs.
Atkinson preferred what is called
society.
Mrs. Atkinson, who was what is call
a capable woman. had come to know
the social characteristic of American
cities as we'll as she used to know the
points Of a good fowl when she did
her own marketing in Philadelphia,
decided that Washington was the best
place to begin the matrimonial cam
paign. She felt that foreign estab-
lishment was preferable to an Ameri-
can one and less difficult to arrange.
The rich Americans. as she knew,
were too uncertain of their own status
to be ready to make what their aristo-
cratic connections would consider
mesalllances. Titles for Clarissa and
Jennie would make all things easy, and
in time she might, with such prestige,
even come to glare at Mrs. Cadwallader
Smythe at the Assembly ball, where
the elect of Philadelphia gathers, at
whose portal she stood, like Moore's
Peri, 'disconsolate.'
Mrs. Atkinson had acquired a haugh-
ty bearing, studied from Miss Mornnt's
countess in THE Danichcffs."
She Was plump and rosy and imposing,
with white hair la Nine. de Pompa-
dour. She seemed to be a great lady
until she opened her mouth.
Clarissa and Jennie had become, like
their father, unwilling slaves to splen-
dor. But they had acquired q knowl-
edge OF the peerage, and they knew
the pedigree of the new British minis
ter to the remotest quartering. 1t was
kind for the family to ask me to spend
two weeks at their house outside of
Georgetown, because it is not often
that families of such quality remember
their acquaintance of the past. I
went and when dear old Mr.. Atkinson
met me with brougham at the station
my heart sank. Riches had aged my
old friend; splendor had withered him;
the finger which held tho immense seal
ring bearing his coat-of-arms was thin
and trembling. There was more
wrinkles in his face than under tho
grapevine asbos: His eyss VA restless,